KATHMANDU, AUGUST 17
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has decided to allow flights in rural areas beyond operational hours after a written note is submitted by the pilot-in-command and dispatcher, ensuring favourable Visual Meteorological Conditions 'VMC Minima' of the destination airport, flight route, and alternate airports to conduct the said flights.
Similarly, CAAN has decided to allow flights at Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) airports if the pilot-in-command feels confident after ensuring the 'VMC visibility and distance from cloud minima' for each flight as listed in Civil Aviation Requirements for Rules of the Air (CAR 2).
Also, airlines flying from Nepalgunj Airport to STOL airports are mandated to arrange a Flight Operation Officer (FOO) at the Nepalgunj Airport, who will have to undertake the full responsibilities of the flight operation.
Moreover, the authority has announced it would conduct a review of operational timings of airports in hilly areas as well as STOL airports across the country while also studying the availability of en route weather through a high-level committee under the coordination of the deputy director general of CAAN.
According to Gyanendra Bhul, spokesperson for the authority, decisions have been made to further strengthen the air safety for flights to and from airports of hilly areas and STOL airports.
Currently, the authority has halted flights to airports in the hilly areas after 12:00 noon citing flight safety reasons during the monsoon season.
The new provisions were added following the complaints from residents of the Karnali region and people's representatives citing the regulator's decision to ban flights in rural areas was impractical and that the locals of the region had been adversely affected.
A version of this article appears in the print on August 18, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
